The Executive Council has confirmed Governor Hassan’s appointees for the commissioner of both the Banking Department and the Department of Resources and Economic Development.

The council voted unanimously to confirm Jeff Rose as DRED Commissioner and Glenn Perlow as Banking Commissioner.

Rose, a Republican, held positions in both the public and private sector, most recently as head of communications for BAE Systems in Nashua. Perlow is moving up from the number two spot in the Banking Department.

Across the country, cash-strapped state and local governments are not just cutting services — they're also cutting access to courts. The tip of the iceberg may be small claims courts.

These courts, dealing with disputes involving small sums of money, are the workhorses of the judicial system. There are thousands of such courts across the country, but perhaps nowhere are they being cut more dramatically than in California.